Newsgroups and starting the newsgroup reader

Newsgroup readers, or newsreaders, are used to gain access to various types of newsgroups, to download and read news messages, and to post replies to them. Newsgroups can offer valuable information from people who use the same products and technologies that you use, or they can be used to find out what others think of a topic. You can find newsgroups on practically any subject, either on the Internet or a company's intranet.

If you have not previously set up a newsreader, Microsoft Office Outlook automatically sets up the Windows Mail Newsreader or Outlook Express Newsreader. This newsreader is a Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) newsreader that you can use to download newsgroup content and then work with it when you are not connected to the Internet. You can also browse most newsgroups by using your Web browser.

Note: In Windows Vista, Outlook Express has been renamed Windows Mail. If you use the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, you will see Outlook Express. Both of these e-mail clients provide a newsreader.

To use the Windows Mail or Outlook Express Newsreader for the first time, you must add the News command to your Outlook window. After the initial setup, you open Windows Mail or Outlook Express with that command, and then you start the newsreader.

Do the following:

Add the News command to the menu bar or Go menu

On the Standard toolbar, click the Toolbar Options arrow
.

Point to Add or Remove Buttons, and then click Customize.

Click the Commands tab.

In the Categories list, click Go.

In the Commands list, click News, and without releasing the mouse button, do one of the following:

Drag the News command onto the Outlook menu bar, and then release the mouse button.

Drag the News command to an Outlook toolbar, and then release the mouse button.

Drag the News command to the Go menu. When the menu displays a list of commands, point to where you want the command to appear, and then release the mouse button.

Start the newsreader

On the menu bar, toolbar, or Go menu where you added the News command, click News.

The first time that you start the newsreader, Windows Mail or Outlook Express opens and you are asked to set up a Newsgroups account. An Internet Connection Wizard helps you connect to one or more e-mail or news servers. You will need the following information from your Internet service provider (ISP) or local area network (LAN) administrator:

To add an e-mail account, you need your account name and password, and the names of your incoming and outgoing e-mail servers.

To add a newsgroup, you need the name of the news server that you want to connect to and, if required, your account name and password.